England underestimated the Indian team and concentrated on Ashes, it has led to their downfall in this series: Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar has opined that the England cricket team and English media thought more about the upcoming Ashes series rather than concentrating on the present challenge posed by Team India.

The legendary batsman feels this ideology has led to their downfall in this series as India now lead 2-1, with one match to go. India can win the series if they manage to avoid a defeat in the fifth Test, while England can only draw the series even if they emerge victorious in the final match.

What a test match!!! Great effort from boys to pull it off @BCCI pic.twitter.com/SYybcGjt4P

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) September 6, 2021

While reviewing the Oval Test on AAJTAK, Sunil Gavaskar opened up about the mistakes made by the English team. He said:

"Pressure will be on Root in the fifth Test at Manchester because India will be heading into that match with a 2-1 psychological advantage. Another big mistake of the England team and English media was that they were talking about the Ashes series and how they want to play in that series. They should have focused on the present challenge from India instead. England underestimated the Indian team, and it eventually cost them dearly in the series as they cannot win the series now."

England will tour Australia for the Ashes series in December.

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The useful contributions from the tail were very crucial in both wins at Lord's and the Oval: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar also emphasized the importance of the contributions from the lower order players to the batting department. He explained how the knocks of Shardul Thakur, Shami, and Bumrah in this Test series helped India get to a match-winning situation. In this regard, Gavaskar said:

"If India had made only 380 runs in their second innings, England would have had to chase a score of around 280. That would have meant less pressure on them as compared to chasing 368. So those useful contributions from the tail were very crucial. First, we saw in Lords and now in this Test match."

Sunil Gavaskar also felt the useful batting contributions from the lower order gave the bowlers a huge boost of confidence before they took the field to bowl.

"When bowlers score some runs in the lower order, then their confidence usually goes up even when they come back to bowl in the following innings. I am very delighted that India won a Test match at Oval after 50 years."

🤝 See you at Manchester 🏟️#TeamIndia 🇮🇳 | #ENGvIND | @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/9DuMnMO2dZ

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 6, 2021

India and England will now head to Manchester for their fifth and series-deciding clash. The Old Trafford cricket ground will host the match from September 10.